3 weeks ago
Inside Bengal's Holding Centres for Alleged Bangladeshi Immigrants
Near India's border with Bangladesh, there are special buildings called 'holding centres'.
People who are suspected of coming to India from Bangladesh without the right documents are kept there.
The state government of West Bengal calls its plan 'detect, delete, deport'.
This means finding people it says are foreigners, taking their names off voter lists, and sending them back to Bangladesh.
People can be kept in these centres for up to 30 days.
Then they are pushed back to Bangladesh, without a trial in court.
Inside the centres are women and children, and their families often do not know where they have been taken.
A local lawyer says thousands of such cases happen every year near the border.
Many experts say the government should use courts instead of sending people away so quickly.
They worry the system is unfair and does not give people a chance to defend themselves.
West Bengal's 'detect, delete, deport' policy detains alleged Bangladeshi illegal immigrants in holding centres such as a repurposed government rest house in Tentulia.
Detainees may be held for up to 30 days before being 'pushed back' to Bangladesh without trial or diplomatic protocol.
The centres operate under a secretive Union home ministry executive order, with tacit backing from the controversial Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
Local lawyer Piyarul Islam says Basirhat subdivision alone sees 7,000-8,000 illegal immigration cases annually, about 1,000 of them involving foreigners.
Human rights lawyer Aman Wadud and legal scholar Mohsin Alam Bhat argue the pushbacks lack legal backing and deny detainees due process.
- Who
- The West Bengal government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the Border Security Force, local police and the Rapid Action Force; the people detained are alleged Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, most of them reportedly Muslim.
- What
- Holding centres detain alleged illegal immigrants, who may be deported ('pushed back') to Bangladesh without a trial as part of the 'detect, delete, deport' policy.
- Where
- Tentulia and Hakimpur in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
- When
- After the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in Bengal; new cases now fall under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (no specific dates are given in the article).
- Why
- The stated aim is to detect foreigners, delete their names from electoral rolls and deport them; critics say the policy reflects anti-immigrant politics that flout due process.
Critics of the policy
Supporters of the policy
Legality of pushbacks
Critics of the policy
People detained inside Indian territory cannot be forced across the border after a cursory check; such pushbacks have no legal backing, and the government should file cases and hold trials instead.
Supporters of the policy
Pushbacks are valid when the Border Security Force stops people trying to sneak into India at the border, and the executive order empowers local law enforcement to detain and deport on suspicion.
Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
Critics of the policy
The law gives police and immigration officials sweeping executive powers and violates constitutional rights that apply to both citizens and non-citizens; a person should first be adjudicated a foreigner before detention.
Supporters of the policy
The act provides legal backing for handling foreigners who enter India without valid documents, and enforcement has become stricter with two-year sentences.
Who is targeted
Critics of the policy
Anecdotal evidence suggests most of those detained or pushed back are Muslim, echoing Assam's discriminatory foreigner tribunals that targeted ethnic Bengalis, especially Muslims.
Supporters of the policy
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that those eligible for naturalisation under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 - Hindu migrants - would not be targeted.
Key facts
- Policy
- 'Detect, delete, deport' - detect foreigners, delete names from electoral rolls, deport them
- Location
- Tentulia, Basirhat I block, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, near the Bangladesh border
- Detention period
- Up to 30 days before 'pushback'
- Legal basis
- Union home ministry executive order; Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
- Annual cases (Basirhat subdivision)
- 7,000-8,000 illegal immigration cases; about 1,000 involve foreigners
- Sentencing trend
- Previously five months plus a fine; now two-year sentences
- Agencies involved
- Border Security Force, local police, Rapid Action Force
Sources
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